


Caught in the Middle of the Storm, You are my Shelter

by HaileyAnn



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band), One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Nashton - Freeform, short fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-20 02:13:44
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2411216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HaileyAnn/pseuds/HaileyAnn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>All the times Ashton's fallen in love.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caught in the Middle of the Storm, You are my Shelter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paolacrdgz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paolacrdgz/gifts).



> This is for my favorite person ever because it's her birthday and she's like my sunshine I love you Paola <3
> 
> The title is a lyrics from Kris Allen's "My Weakness" and you should definitely check it out

The first time Ashton fell in love was when he was ten. At the time he didn’t know he’d fallen in love, but looking back on it, he realized.

It was a childhood milestone to play soccer, and Ashton was on the league funded by the school. He wasn’t very good, but he wasn’t bad either so he got a sufficient amount of playing time. This game was especially exciting because it was their version of the playoffs. If they won they’d get to the final! To ten year old Ashton that was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to him.

He walked on the field with a little bounce in his step and a wide smile across his face. His mom and aunt trailed a few steps behind him, but he approached his team like he was the most independent ten year old in the world.

His shin guards were on perfectly, and his shirt tucked into the waistband of his pants in the most formal manner. Ashton liked wearing his uniform and feeling a part of the team. His teammates gave him a few pats on the back. Their coach was talking to the ref, but they’d start warm ups as soon as he came over. Ashton was buzzing.

The team they were playing was a bright orange color, and their uniforms said they were the tigers. Ashton hated to admit it, but they looked really cool. His uniform was a baby blue color, and they were the whales.

“Okay, guys.” Their coach approached them with a light grin on his face. Ashton loved their coach, he was always encouraging them and never ever raised his voice unless it was to cheer. He was a college student which meant he was doing this out of pure enjoyment of soccer. “A lap around the field then get into lines to dribble through the cones.”

It was how they always started, and Ashton did it without complaint. He was eager for the game to start, he really wanted to make it to the finals. Then he’d get his first trophy!

Ashton completed the laps and the warm up drills they did, and it felt like forever when the game actually started. Now his stomach had tied up in knots with nerves.

He got into his starting position and put on a look of determination. From his peripheral vision he could see his mom with her camera trained on him. While rolling his eyes the whistle blew, and then he was running.

Ashton played as hard as he could without killing himself. He didn’t make any goals, but the other team did. They were really good, and by the second half it was 2-0 Tigers. Ashton felt himself fill with frustration. They had to win. They just had to.

His coach called for a timeout, and they all went to huddle around him. He didn’t look mad, he never did, but he wasn’t smiling either. “Okay guys, I know they’re good, but don’t get too frustrated! Just do what you always do and don’t let the score mess you up. Ashton I want you on offense.”

That made Ashton gasp. He’s only played offense once, and it didn’t end up very well. “Really? Me?”

“Yes, you,” his coach confirmed. They all put their hands in and coach said, “Whales on three. One, two, three…” There was a cheer of “whales!” and they all jogged back onto the field.

Ashton’s nerves came back full force now that he was on the opposing side of the field. People would be passing him the ball now. It didn’t go too badly. No one really had to pass him the ball because it mostly stayed on the other side of the field. At least their defense was holding up pretty well.

Then it was passed to his side of the field, and Ashton felt a lump form in his throat. He tried to stay open, but this little blond kid kept getting in his way. If it were legal, Ashton would’ve tackled him. Ashton was taller.

He desperately wanted to shout ‘I’m open’, but he couldn’t because he wasn’t.

Something strange happened then. The blond kid wheezed and ducked to the floor, as a soccer ball came hurtling through the air at Ashton’s face. He didn’t have time to follow the blond boy’s lead before he got a face full of ball.

 

When he came back to consciousness (had he really passed out?) the same blond boy was leaning over him, and there was a circle of adults around them. The blond kid looked incredibly relieved when Ashton opened his eyes, and he offered Ashton a hand to stand up, which he accepted reluctantly. He was the enemy team.

A frenzy of adults swarmed him asking if he was okay, all the while he was still linked to the blond kid. They were being pushed together, and Ashton felt claustrophobic.

After he assured everyone he was okay, he was whisked away from his helper to the sidelines to get a bag of ice. He’d probably have a gnarly bruise on his forehead after this. His coach grabbed his head in both of his hands and stared him in the eyes. “Your pupils don’t look dilated. Do you feel sick?” Ashton confirmed he wasn’t, and his coach smiled. “I think you’ll be okay. Probably should sit out the rest of the game though.”

Ashton wanted to protest, but his coach was probably right. He wasn’t nauseous, but his bruise still hurt a lot. He got to sit on the benches while his mom and aunt would steal worried glances at him. They’d been glued to him, until he’d shooed them away. Now he just watched the game in anticipation. His blond friend wasn’t playing anymore. He was walking towards Ashton around the field. He suddenly felt very nervous.

When blondie approached him, he was holding out a Gatorade and Rice Krispie treat out towards him. “Brought you some headache food,” the kid informed him.

“It wasn’t your fault I got hit,” Ashton said, accepting the gifts anyway. Free food right? His team usually brought celery or something equally healthy for after the games.

“It should’ve hit me, not you. I feel bad.” The blond kid sat next to him, and Ashton actually looked at him for the first time. His hair didn’t look really blond, which was kind of strange considering how young they both were. For some reason Ashton really liked his blue eyes. “I’m Niall.”

“Ashton,” he replied, unwrapping the marshmallow treat. “I don’t blame you. Besides, I only passed out for like, two seconds,” he joked. “That’s lame.”

Niall smiled widely at him, and it looked very natural on his face. Like he was supposed to smile. Ashton liked it. “I don’t know, a lot can happen in two seconds. What was the otherworld like?”

“It was amazing. Everyone was on a cloud, and I met Michael Jackson.”

This time Niall laughed, and if Ashton had visited the otherworld, he imagined this is what the angels sounded like.

That was the first time he fell in love but didn’t know it.

  
  
  


The second time was when he was 15. After the day at soccer he never contacted Niall again. Hardly thought about him, except for a few months after the incident sometimes he’d catch himself thinking of how he laughed.

Ashton had long ago discovered it wasn’t boobs that got him going. In seventh grade in fact. While changing for PE, one of the eighth graders on the football team had walked in wearing nothing but the bottom half of his football jersey. At only thirteen, he’d still be one of the fittest boys Ashton had ever seen, and it was then he knew. He knew that if given the chance he’d kiss this eighth grader.

It hadn’t been one of those life changing moments. He’d kind of been surprised at himself for thinking that, but after a while just shrugged it off. So what? It didn’t change that he was Ashton. He still liked playing soccer (for fun at least) and messing around on his cajon at home until he got a real drum set.

He’d told his mom when he was fourteen. He wasn’t afraid, but at the time it didn’t seem important. Ashton had been in middle school, it’s not like he was going to be bringing a guy home soon. So the first week of summer before high school, he’d been watching Transformers with his mom, and he’d told her, “Shia LaBeouf is really cute.”

Ashton secretly thought his mom had known for a while, but she’d humored him then and had replied, “Oh do you now? I won’t approve of you bringing any older men home once you start ninth grade.”

He really loved his mom.

Bringing home older men wasn’t a problem, because the first sixth months of high school he was too busy to even think about dating. He was already in one AP class, took seven periods, and joined Key Club, Fresh Drumming Club, and the Gentlemen Society to make his mother happy. It was pretty horrible.

His schedule was jam packed, and even when he did see a boy he liked he never had much time to get to know them, see if they’d like him too. Until he met Cane.

Cane had red hair with the sides shaved and freckles all over his face and shiny green eyes. He didn’t got to Ashton’s school, they’d met at one of the Key Club events. They were volunteering at the city fair.

It was a good first relationship. They kissed for the first time at the Roller Rink, and Ashton got to hold his hand when they met at the mall. It wasn’t love though. A lot of people had “their first love” right away, but Ashton wouldn’t call Cane his first love. He was his first boyfriend. While it lasted it had been nice.

No one got their heartbroken, they both mutually agreed they had too much going on with school and extracurricular to deal with a relationship. Ashton was fine with that, he’d have plenty of time to date.

Except he fell in love again sophomore year. It was a complete accident, and Ashton realized it right away this time. The first time he’d been too young to understand what love even was.

Ashton’s chemistry teacher had a strict “no tardies” rule, and as soon as the late bell rang he locked the door and didn’t open it until you were administration. It wasn’t his fault that he was late. There was a huge storm going on, and he was terribly afraid of storms so while trying to open his locker his hands had been shaking too much to get the lock undone. When he’d finally got his book and assignment the door had been locked.

His school was one of those “outdoor hallway” ones so he was stuck out in the open while rain poured down and thunder shook the buildings every few minutes. He decided to go take refuge in one of the bathrooms. That required having to dart out into the rain for every connecting hallway though.

By the time he made it to the bathroom he was drenched and shaking, both from cold and fear. He clenched the edge of the sink, trying to regain his balance. In the mirror he wore a horrified expression, and his straight blond hair was stuck to his head but starting to curl at the edges. Of course the one time he was late to chemistry had to be on the biggest storm of the year.

The wind that was crashing outside was causing the bathroom door to shake, and that only increased Ashton’s fear. He tried to tell himself that it was just a storm, he’d be fine, not to worry, but that didn’t help much.

His only option was wait until next period, and he could escape to Algebra 2. That was a nice sturdy room that would shield him from the wind.

“Whoa, dude, are you okay?”  
Ashton whipped around to see another guy had come into the bathroom. Either the storm or Ashton’s heartbeat had drowned out his footsteps. He took the newcomer in. Something about him was eerily familiar, but he was sure that he’d never seen him around campus before. His hair was a bleached blond and his face still had that baby shape. Ashton towered over him.

It was then he realized that Ashton had hunched in on himself, and he probably looked like a mad man standing there, staring at the the guy. He straightened up as best he could. “F-fine. Got locked out of class.”

The guy took a cautionary step forward. “You mean, Mr. Rold? I just started here today, but the guy made it very clear he didn’t like people who were late.” He cracked a small smile, and Ashton felt his heart speed up a little. Thought that could’ve been from the crack of lightening. “Not like rain much?”

Ashton really didn’t want to admit his irrational fears to a complete stranger, but lying would’ve been useless. “More like thunder and lightening.”

He nodded in understanding. “Yeah, they aren’t great.”

“Shouldn’t you be in class?” Ashton blurted out. Obviously he wasn’t in class because he was using the fucking bathroom. He wanted to hit himself.

“Should be? Yeah. But it’s just gym, and I figured that ditching my first day wouldn’t be too bad.” He took a few more steps towards Ashton. “I’m Niall.”

It was then that a very vivid image of little him sitting next to a little brunette kid with a big smile and loud laugh from all those years ago came back to Ashton. That’s why he was so familiar! Ashton wondered if Niall remembered him. If he did, he sure didn’t show it.

“Oh. Ashton,” he rushed when he realized he was just staring. “What made you transfer?”

Niall rolled his eyes, and Ashton felt a little pang of embarrassment. It was such a boring question. “I lived here in like fourth grade? And I moved to Oregon for a few years, and now we’re back. Don’t ask me why, my mom doesn’t make sense.”

That could be why Ashton had never seen Niall again after their soccer match. If he’d moved down a state then it would make sense. “Well, welcome back I--” There was an especially loud clap of thunder, and Ashton practically jumped out of his skin.

He expected Niall to laugh at him or something, but he actually looked concerned. “It’s okay, the lightning can’t get us in here.” Niall closed to the distance between them. Apparently he had no personal space issues with strangers. “You must be freezing.”

Ashton was kind of frozen in shock as Niall literally started pulling off Ashton’s wet sweatshirt. They’d just met. Technically.

The shorter boy started ringing out the sweatshirt in the sink like it was a normal thing to happen. “I think I have a jacket in my bag. Don’t remember if I took it out to spite my mom.” Ashton didn’t move. “You can use it,” Niall added.

This whole situation was one of the most bizarre things he’d ever experienced. Ashton shook his head out of his reverie and unzipped Niall’s backpack that was still on his back. The tank top he’d been wearing under his sweatshirt was also wet, but he thought that taking that off would cross their just-met-ten-minutes-ago boundaries.

There was a jacket. It was big and black, and said “California Surf City” across the front. While he thought Niall was too busy ringing out the sweatshirt he quickly took his tank off and slipped the jacket on. Immediately the icy cold of his skin warmed the slightest.

Niall turned back around, draping the sweatshirt over the sink. “It probably won’t dry anymore than that, but we still have like forty minutes to kill.”

“You’re staying in here with me?” Ashton hated to admit how much that pleased him. This guy was just so… exuberant. He didn’t remember the soccer game perfectly, but he was pretty sure he’d been like that there too.

“‘Couse. Not gonna leave you in here alone to deal with this bitch storm. Man, I can’t deal with this bitch storm either.”

Ashton was pretty sure that Niall just said that last part to make him feel like less of a loser, but he fell just the tiniest bit in love again. This time it was obvious.

  
  


The last time sealed the deal.

After the bathroom incident Niall and Ashton had become inseparable best friends. It turned out Niall had remembered the incident on the soccer field all those years ago, just not right away.

For their entire sophomore year they were practically the same person. Ashton went to cheer at all of Niall’s soccer games, and Niall went to Ashton’s numerous activities whether it be debate, drumming, or swimming (which it turned out he was pretty good at because of his lean body.) Every weekend they were at each other’s houses, and when neither of them got dates to formal they went together.

Getting together had taken a little longer. Up until then Niall hadn’t had his sexuality crisis yet. At the end of Junior year Niall had started distancing himself from Ashton, which had been a terrible experience for them both. It ended with Ashton getting mad at Niall for ignoring him for no reason, and then Niall breaking down and admitting he thought he liked him.

They hadn’t kissed like in some teen romance movie. It’d been slightly awkward, even though Ashton had felt the same. It took a few weeks for Ashton to work up the courage to ask Niall out who had given a “yes” using a duh tone.

From there it had been pure paradise. They went through their honeymoon phase, had minimal fights, but always ended up apologizing to each other with lots of kiss.

They made it all the way to their last year in college when Ashton was sure he never ever wanted to be with anyone else.

The two of them had attended the same university (University of Washington) and got an apartment together as soon as they could afford it. Their relationship was the definition of cheesy. Niall always went out of his way to pick Ashton up at work because he didn’t have a car, and Niall’s was a gift from his parents. When Ashton went to visit his sick aunt in Florida, he called Niall every night and talked for hours. On days one of them had exams the other would bring them a warm Starbucks latte and croissant after class. Those were literally the best years of Ashton’s life.

Ashton was absolutely exhausted when he came back from work (KFC manager thank you very much) and very very wet. Seattle was rainy, big surprise there, and it hadn’t been forecasted so he’d been optimistic to wear a light sweater. He shook off the water like a dog.

Niall was immediately by his side, wrapping his arms around his waist. “Baby, you must be freezing,” he whispered against Ashton’s neck. It was so similar to all those years ago in the bathroom. “Let’s get you out of these clothes.”

Their apartment was decorate for the holidays, and smelled like cinnamon as a courtesy from Ashton’s mom. She loved getting them scented candles. Niall led him to their bedroom and helped him strip to his underwear. It was easily a one man job, but Ashton didn’t complain. He loved being babied by Niall.

After putting on a warm sweatshirt and sweats he followed Niall back out the kitchen which he was surprised to see real food at. Maybe not real, real food, but not cereal. They’d had cereal and frozen foods for so long Ashton had almost forgot what a homemade meal looked like.

Ashton raised an eyebrow. “What’s the occasion?”

Niall just shrugged. “Can’t we have unprocessed food for once?” He held out a chair for Ashton to sit in, and this was very very bizarre. Being gentlemanly wasn’t in Niall’s job description.

“Okay… I guess not.” On the table was a creamy looking mac n cheese that wasn’t Kraft and there was a plate mashed potatoes in the middle. “Looks delicious. Is it safe to eat though?” Ashton teased which earned him a glare from Niall.

“Shut up.”

The whole situation was so un-Niall like, Ashton knew there was some kind of catch coming up. Right now he chose not to question it. They ate with intertwined ankles under the table and held semi normal conversation. Ashton asked how Niall’s classes went and if his professor was still refusing to raise his grade. Even after six years of dating he still got a little breathless when he caught Niall smiling at him.

It was when the dessert came that things got even stranger. Niall set a plate in front of him, but on it was something very very oddly shaped. The contraption was definitely chocolate but it was shaped like… A giant blob. Like cake and a science experiment gone wrong. “Now I’m serious when I ask if this is safe to eat.”

Niall’s face looked like it was on fire, and Ashton immediately became concerned. “Ni, are you okay?”

“Just take a bite of the cake please,” he begged, and this had taken on a new level of weird.

Ashton picked up the fork and started to cut a piece of the blob. Niall watched his every move in anticipation. His fork hit something hard which was a bit worrying. He tried cutting through it, and when part of the cake fell away he saw it was cardboard. “Cardboard cake?” He shoveled the cake away to unveil a tiny cardboard box.

Niall was still eyeing him, and Ashton hesitantly opened up the box. Everything made sense then, and when he looked back at Niall his boyfriend was on one knee. Inside was a silver band.

“I really didn’t want to be one of those guys who makes a huge overly romantic gesture that just ends up embarrassing us both, but I thought you really deserved an overly romantic gesture so here I am.” Niall was shaking, and Ashton had tears in his eyes. “Ash, I love you to the fucking sun and back. I’m pretty sure when you accepted that rice krispie from me is when I sealed my fate. You’re the only person I want to pick me up when I’m down, and I desperately want to do the same for you. Even if I can make you smile for just a second it’s enough.

“I’m positive I’ll never love someone else like I love you, and I hope that you feel the same way enough to do one small favor. Marry me?”

Ashton was a mess when his little speech was over, and all he could manage was a nod and to throw his arms around his _fiancé._ He’d suspected for a while that he would end up marrying Niall, but now that it was actually in the process of happening he couldn’t even explain the love in his chest.

 

He fell in love with all over again everyday after that.


End file.
